Europe Declares the Welfare State Dead

With the Congress and the administration in full battle mode over implementing ObamaCare to convert the United States into a European welfare state, Dutch King Willem-Alexander gave a nationally televised speech to his nation's Parliament on September 16th declaring that the welfare state was dead. The message, written for the King by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government, stated that current levels of state spending for unemployment benefits and subsidized health care are unsustainable amid Europe's ongoing economic malaise. With Moody's credit rating agency threatening to downgrade Dutch debt, the King announced that citizens soon will be expected to create their own social and financial safety nets with much less help from the state.
Economists define a nation to be a welfare state when 20% or more of its gross domestic product (GDP) is spent by the state on welfare and education. The United States has never hit that level, but welfare and education "investment" spending under...(Read Full Article)